So as the snow scuppered my plans this weekend I decided to get ahead of the seasons and rock out some truly summer colours to bring some sunshine into my life!
I absolutely love acid colours so didn't feel I should have to wait til summer to wear them!
The base orange is two coats of Angelica Nail Colour in Hip Hop from Primark. I then free hand painted a inverted triangle using Barry M Nail Paint in Matt White, followed by a smaller triangle in Bourjois Ultra Shine So Laque in Lime Catwalk. Then using a black nail art pen, I used Models Own, I defined the triangles.
The result would have been a lot better if I'd used tape for cleaner lines but oh well! I'm trying not to sweat the small stuff as much in 2013!
I used W7 top coat to finish off.
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Showing posts with label stripes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stripes. Show all posts
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Monday, 14 January 2013
Dash dash dash
Well I have basically been a bit rubbish with the posts lately - I've got a bit of January inertia! I plan to make a more concerted effort from now on!
I'm using two new polishes in today's post. I went on a bit of spree before Christmas so have quite a few to try.
The base blue is from a RCH Style Society gift set in the Boots Christmas range. After two coats of that had dried, I applied a horizontal brush width stripe on each nail using Essie Nail Lacquer in Fancy Pants (love this name!). Any wonky lines I just straightened up with some more of the blue.
The I simply added some pink and white dashes using Models Own nail art pens.
This is one of the designs that there's no need to worry about being exact as the overall effect is what you're after.
I finished it all off with a coat of Save the Nail 45 Second Top Coat to make it all nice and shiny!
Happy Painting.. the nailist xxx
I'm using two new polishes in today's post. I went on a bit of spree before Christmas so have quite a few to try.
The base blue is from a RCH Style Society gift set in the Boots Christmas range. After two coats of that had dried, I applied a horizontal brush width stripe on each nail using Essie Nail Lacquer in Fancy Pants (love this name!). Any wonky lines I just straightened up with some more of the blue.
The I simply added some pink and white dashes using Models Own nail art pens.
This is one of the designs that there's no need to worry about being exact as the overall effect is what you're after.
I finished it all off with a coat of Save the Nail 45 Second Top Coat to make it all nice and shiny!
Happy Painting.. the nailist xxx
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Lucky dip favourites
So as I mentioned on my last post there was a charity nail polish lucky dip at work. I've been working my way through my haul and here's a few of my favourites.
The base grey is Models Own in Mushroom and the two lines are Butter London in Artful Dodger (turquoise) and Dahling (dusky pink). I particularly love the Models Own one - might try it with a matte top coat next time.
I started with the grey all over the nail then free hand added the layers of colour so the top part of my nail has basically got 4 coats of colour. Just make sure you let it dry between coats otherwise it will be too thick to dry.
Finished off with a coat of Save the Nail 45 second top coat.
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
The base grey is Models Own in Mushroom and the two lines are Butter London in Artful Dodger (turquoise) and Dahling (dusky pink). I particularly love the Models Own one - might try it with a matte top coat next time.
I started with the grey all over the nail then free hand added the layers of colour so the top part of my nail has basically got 4 coats of colour. Just make sure you let it dry between coats otherwise it will be too thick to dry.
Finished off with a coat of Save the Nail 45 second top coat.
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Stripe out
It's been a week since my last post because I've had a busy busy week with no time to do my nails - shocking I know! The main culprit is putting in some extra hours at work but I also went to my first yoga class on Tuesday (only just stopped aching but loved it!) and also out for obligatory Thursday night cocktails (Thursdays are the new Fridays!).
Low light of the week was my thumb nail breaking and taking some skin with it (youch!). Highlight of the week was Children in Need charity day at work in which there was a 50p nail polish lucky dip - imagine my excitement! I was by far their best customer and while doing my bit for charity bagged myself around 10 new polishes. Favourites were some Butter London (love this brand) and a couple of Bad Apple polishes which, as far as I know, are fast becoming popular - or I might just be behind the curve, who knows! Anyway, one of them features in today's post...
The base colour is two coats of No7 Stay Perfect in Me Me Me! then, nail by nail, angled striping tape followed by a coat of Bad Apple in 3D Arkansas. Make sure you tape is stuck down right to the edges before applying the top colour and also be sure to peel it off almost straight away before the paint starts to dry. Hopefully you can see from the pic that the Bad Apple Arkansas is a lovely iridescent turquoisey pink.
Sorry about the ugly thumb - makes me look like I have man hands :o(
Finished with a top coat of Seche Vite quick dry.
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Low light of the week was my thumb nail breaking and taking some skin with it (youch!). Highlight of the week was Children in Need charity day at work in which there was a 50p nail polish lucky dip - imagine my excitement! I was by far their best customer and while doing my bit for charity bagged myself around 10 new polishes. Favourites were some Butter London (love this brand) and a couple of Bad Apple polishes which, as far as I know, are fast becoming popular - or I might just be behind the curve, who knows! Anyway, one of them features in today's post...
The base colour is two coats of No7 Stay Perfect in Me Me Me! then, nail by nail, angled striping tape followed by a coat of Bad Apple in 3D Arkansas. Make sure you tape is stuck down right to the edges before applying the top colour and also be sure to peel it off almost straight away before the paint starts to dry. Hopefully you can see from the pic that the Bad Apple Arkansas is a lovely iridescent turquoisey pink.
Sorry about the ugly thumb - makes me look like I have man hands :o(
Finished with a top coat of Seche Vite quick dry.
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Mixed up monochrome - Nailed It's Two Bottle Challenge
Hey peeps
The first challenge of the week was Polish Days' MAN-icure, now it's time for Nailed It's 'Two Bottle Challenge' to celebrate the blog's one year anniversary and reaching an amazing 555,555 views, whoop!
The rules are simple - use two bottles of polish to create a design without the use of stamping or embellishments. You are allowed to mix the colours to create more colours but for me it had to be plain black and white because I love the monochrome look and you can create really striking designs. I also love mixing up designs because I'm a girl who wants it all - not just happy with the one design so I get carried away. So here it is...
My two bottles were Models Own Pro in French White and Barry M Nail Paint in Black. I used striping tape to create the straight lines on the ring finger and a dotter for the polka dots, but everything else is free handed.
I then did the same designs but mixed them up on my right hand...
I love it! Hope you do too. Head over to Nailed it to check out the other entries and of course her fab blog. Happy Blogiversary Nailed it!
Happy painting.. the nailist xxx
The first challenge of the week was Polish Days' MAN-icure, now it's time for Nailed It's 'Two Bottle Challenge' to celebrate the blog's one year anniversary and reaching an amazing 555,555 views, whoop!
The rules are simple - use two bottles of polish to create a design without the use of stamping or embellishments. You are allowed to mix the colours to create more colours but for me it had to be plain black and white because I love the monochrome look and you can create really striking designs. I also love mixing up designs because I'm a girl who wants it all - not just happy with the one design so I get carried away. So here it is...
My two bottles were Models Own Pro in French White and Barry M Nail Paint in Black. I used striping tape to create the straight lines on the ring finger and a dotter for the polka dots, but everything else is free handed.
I then did the same designs but mixed them up on my right hand...
I love it! Hope you do too. Head over to Nailed it to check out the other entries and of course her fab blog. Happy Blogiversary Nailed it!
Happy painting.. the nailist xxx
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Wig Wam Thank You Mam
I've gone all tribal! This is all painted free hand and is meant to be a little bit messy to add to the effect.
I started with the peach base colour - Models Own Nail Polish in Fuzzy Peach. Then some free hand random stripes of green and blue/grey. I used Bourjois 10 day Anti Chip in shade 23 and Bourjois So Laque Ultra Shine in Bleu Asphalte. And then just start adding lines, dots and flicks with black and white nail art pens.
Finish off with a quick dry top coat after the design is fully dry to avoid colour bleeding.
Happy Painting... the nailist xxx
I started with the peach base colour - Models Own Nail Polish in Fuzzy Peach. Then some free hand random stripes of green and blue/grey. I used Bourjois 10 day Anti Chip in shade 23 and Bourjois So Laque Ultra Shine in Bleu Asphalte. And then just start adding lines, dots and flicks with black and white nail art pens.
Finish off with a quick dry top coat after the design is fully dry to avoid colour bleeding.
Happy Painting... the nailist xxx
Labels:
Bourjois,
dots,
Models Own,
stripes,
tribal
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Unleash your inner pink... take 2!
I wasn't very happy with the last ones so here's a second attempt at a Breast Cancer Awareness Month inspired design... much better I think! What do you think?
Colours used:
Pale pink - Models Own Nail Polish in Pastel Pink
Dark pink - Bourjois 1 Second Nail Polish in Rose Cupcuke
Silver details - No7 nail art pen from a Christmas 2011 gift set
I had to use a striping brush (very thin paint brush) to create the detail in the dark pink
Happy Painting... the nailist xxx
Colours used:
Pale pink - Models Own Nail Polish in Pastel Pink
Dark pink - Bourjois 1 Second Nail Polish in Rose Cupcuke
Silver details - No7 nail art pen from a Christmas 2011 gift set
I had to use a striping brush (very thin paint brush) to create the detail in the dark pink
Happy Painting... the nailist xxx
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Braid it!
All of a sudden it's Sunday evening and I don't know where the weekend has gone! Well... I did spend a ridiculously large amount of time playing with my new phone.. a Samsung Galaxy SIII - it's amazing. Got it out the box at midday and before I knew it, it was dinner time! Anyway, I'll stop waffling as I, of course, still found time to do my nails and here's today's design...
It's basically made up of free hand alternating strokes of three colours. I used No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Sunshine, which is the metallic. The black is Max Factor Limited Edition Nailfinity in Onyx and the bronze is an unnamed bottle from an FCUK nail gift set.
I learnt the technique on a YouTube tutorial and it definitely requires concentration to make sure you do the stripes in the right order, but worth the effort as the overall effect is fab.
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
It's basically made up of free hand alternating strokes of three colours. I used No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Sunshine, which is the metallic. The black is Max Factor Limited Edition Nailfinity in Onyx and the bronze is an unnamed bottle from an FCUK nail gift set.
I learnt the technique on a YouTube tutorial and it definitely requires concentration to make sure you do the stripes in the right order, but worth the effort as the overall effect is fab.
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Greyed out
I love grey polishes and W7 Nail Polish in Grey is one of my faves. So using this as a base I've played around with three Models Own nail art pens. The plan was just to have a heart on one finger but as usual I got carried away! Unfortunately, I made a rookie mistake and didn't wait long enough before applying top coat, so I've smeared one of the design .. grrrr!
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Labels:
grey,
hearts,
hot pink,
mixed design,
Models Own,
nail art,
neon,
spots,
stripes,
W7,
zebra print
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Grapevine
Quick, simple, juicy grape coloured autumn design....
The base is two coats of Rimmel 60 seconds in 615 Fast & Fushcia. Once dry, I added a stripe of Bourjois 10 days No Chips shade 23 and then a stripe of purple which is a No7 unnamed shade nail art pen from a Christmas giftset. To get a glossy finish I added a coat of Seche Vite quick dry top coat.
The trick with a layered design like this is to use dense coloured polishes that can be added over the base colour in just one coat - too many layers and it will take ages to dry and you'll probably end up smudging.
I just love the colours as they're so autumnal and remind me of one of my favourite things... wine!
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Spotty tiger
I've had one of those weeks which started kind of OK (Mondays are never great!) and then every day has gradually got more stressy (is that a word?!). This resulted in me not having much time for nail painting but I can't go bare nailed (even the thought makes me cringe) so cobbled a quick design together after the Snow Leopard surviving, unchipped, a good 4 days. I've actually ended up with a design I really like, albeit very simple.
It took me a while to think of a name as it was more impulsion lead rather than inspired but I've landed on spotty tiger as the striped nails remind me a little of Toni the Tiger! They're gggrrreat!
The base colour is a new purchase - W7 UV Nail Polish in Disco - love the colour but haven't tested out the UV-ness as yet. I then added detail with black and white nail art pens. Trick to get tapered stripes is to draw from outside edge in, pressing firmly to start with and giving lighter pressure as you draw towards the tapered end.
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Let me upgrade you!
Yesterday's mani upgraded! I just added some pink and yellow stripes...
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Labels:
black,
blue,
bright pink,
H and M,
Models Own,
stripes,
tips,
white,
yellow
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Monochrome fan
I didn't like yesterday's design at all so it had to go! Today's is a lot better.. eye catching, bold and easy to do...
The base colour is one of my favourites... Nail Polish by H&M in Blue My Mind. Two coats of that, followed (once dry) with a deep curved tip of black going to almost halfway down the nail. I used a black polish from an FCUK gift set. To help, you can draw a black curved guide line with a nail art pen before filling in the tips.
Once the tips are fully dry, use a white nail art pen to add 5 white stripes to each tip. Using my trusty Models Own Nail Art Pen I started with the centre stripe to make sure I created an even fan shape.
To finish off, before adding top coat, I actually went around the bottom of the curve with a black nail art pen just to neaten up the lines but that's not necessary. I'm ridiculously anal when it comes to things like that! Even now, looking at the pic it's annoying me that the outer edge of the curve on my little finger isn't filled in properly... best go off and rectify that!
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Labels:
black tips,
blue,
bold,
FCUK,
H and M,
Models Own,
monochrome,
stripes,
tribal,
white
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Wrapping paper
So today's design has ended up looking like wrapping paper... which wasn't what I originally had in mind! It definitely looks better in the flesh as the matt vs glossy effect doesn't come across that well on screen.
I wanted to test run a new polish which is the base colour - W7 Nail Polish in Matt Green. It's got more of a satin finish than completely matt which I really like. After two coats of the green, I added an angled tip to each nail in Bourjois 10 days Nail Enamel shade 15. The polishes in this range are great for applying coloured tips as they have really small brushes with angle end.
Over the top I then added two silver stripes using a No7 nail art pen I have from a limited edition Christmas set. The pen is really good as it gives a dense colour in just one stroke.
I finished off by adding a high shine top coat just over the pink and silver so there's a real contrast between the matt green and the tips. I think it's this, and the colour combo, that makes it look like fancy wrapping paper!
I wanted to test run a new polish which is the base colour - W7 Nail Polish in Matt Green. It's got more of a satin finish than completely matt which I really like. After two coats of the green, I added an angled tip to each nail in Bourjois 10 days Nail Enamel shade 15. The polishes in this range are great for applying coloured tips as they have really small brushes with angle end.
Over the top I then added two silver stripes using a No7 nail art pen I have from a limited edition Christmas set. The pen is really good as it gives a dense colour in just one stroke.
I finished off by adding a high shine top coat just over the pink and silver so there's a real contrast between the matt green and the tips. I think it's this, and the colour combo, that makes it look like fancy wrapping paper!
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Labels:
angled tips,
Bourjois,
bright pink,
green,
matt,
No7,
silver,
stripes,
W7
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Muted bling!
I love Autumn! My favourite season is finally on the horizon (although the weather seems to think it's summer - finally!) - I love crisp sunny days and amazing sunsets, layering clothes and scarves and the knowledge that I'll soon be able to put my boots back on, instead of showing willing and wearing sandals but inevitably getting wet feet due to our unpredictable British weather.
One of the main things I look forward to is the autumnal warm muted colour palettes, in both fashion and nail polishes. Some of my favourite polishes are beiges, heathers and smokey grey, however, I do still like a bit of bling. This is what's inspired today's design...
I used two coats of Nails Inc in Caramel as the base colour. Followed by a central stripe of on each nail of Models Own Pro in Swan Lake just using the width of the brush. I had to apply a million coats to get the effect, as this is one of those polishes which looks amazingly dense in the bottle but in fact the glitter covering is frustratingly thin. I should have used a denser glitter (I have enough!) but I really love the tone of this polish - it's basically a champagne/beige glitter rather than gold or silver, so really complements the base colour.
I was going to leave it at that but last minute added definition with a black nail art pen... I fear this was a mistake as the design went from subtly sophisticated to looking a bit clumsy - note for next time!
One of the main things I look forward to is the autumnal warm muted colour palettes, in both fashion and nail polishes. Some of my favourite polishes are beiges, heathers and smokey grey, however, I do still like a bit of bling. This is what's inspired today's design...
I was going to leave it at that but last minute added definition with a black nail art pen... I fear this was a mistake as the design went from subtly sophisticated to looking a bit clumsy - note for next time!
Happy painting... the nailist xxx
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Cupcake dreams
So one of my many dreams (I'm a bit of an idealistic dreamer!) is to one day own a cupcake cafebar, famous for the best cupcakes in town which you can buy to take away or sit in an enjoy with a cocktail. There would of course be somewhere to get your nails done while sipping your cocktail. I imagine the decor will be retro glam - think American diner meets Breakfast at Tiffany's! Well, one day maybe... In the meantime the dream has inspired my latest design, 'Cupcake Dream's, and here's the how to.
(By the way, it would be really good to hear your thoughts on my blog. I know I have some followers via facebook but it would be great to get your comments and following on the actual blog)
This is a bit of a complex one so here goes...
After a good base coat to avoid staining, apply a light pink to eight nails and lavender colour to one nail on each hand - choose a different nail on each hand. I used Bourjois So Laque Ultra Shine in Rose Satin for the pink and Prevail Nail Lacquer in Lush Lounge for the lavender.
Once dry, using a white nail art pen such as Models Own Nail Art Pen in white draw a deep semi circle on the lavender nails
Then fill in the top half of the semi circle with one coat of white - I used Models Own Pro Limited Edition in French White
Allow the white to dry and then create the cupcake base by adding a pink tip with a 'frilly' base. Just paint across the tip moving the brush in a zigzag motion to give the impression of frosting. I used Models Own in Pastel Pink.
While that dries, start applying the various designs to different nails. Firstly, I created candy stripes using a thin brush and Bourjois One Second Texture Silcone Gel Nail Enamel in Rose Cupcake (apt name!)
On another nail I did a 'hundreds and thousand' style design adding random small dots of various pastel colours, just using the corner edge of each brush. My selection of colours were Rimmel 60 Seconds 620 'How do you Lilac it', No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Minty Fresh, Nail Paint by Barry M in Lemon Ice Cream, Ruby & Millie Nail Colour in Green 710C and Bourjois One Second Texture Silcone Gel Nail Enamel in Rose Cupcake.
On my little fingernail I created a simple white polka dot design using the dotter on the Models Own white nail art pen.
Now, going back to the cupcake fingers apply vertical stripes to define the cupcake case. I used a Models Own Nail Art Pen in Pink.
On the last nail add a wide tip using the lavender base colour of the cupcake nail
Now back to the cupcake finger, using the colours used on the 'hundreds and thousands' nail add some small random flecks to the white part of the cupcake and a bejewelled cherry on top. I used a pink rhinestone from an assortment pack, Broadway Nails Fashion Diva 3D Art Deluxe Nail & Body Art Kit. The best way to apply these is to add a dot of clear top coat to the nail and then using a toothpick, deep the end in some clear top coat, pick up the rhinestone and dot it on.
Add a shiny top coat to all nails and there you have it... nails good enough to eat (not literally!)!
Here's a shot of the other hand...
and here's the kit
(By the way, it would be really good to hear your thoughts on my blog. I know I have some followers via facebook but it would be great to get your comments and following on the actual blog)
This is a bit of a complex one so here goes...
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| Step 1 - Base colours |
Once dry, using a white nail art pen such as Models Own Nail Art Pen in white draw a deep semi circle on the lavender nails
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| Step 2 - Outline semi circle |
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| Step 3 - Fill in outline |
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| Step 4 - add cupcake base |
![]() |
| Step 5 - Candy stripes |
![]() |
| Step 6 - Hundreds and thousands |
![]() |
| Step 7 - polka dots |
![]() |
| Step 8 - Define cupcake base |
![]() |
| Step 9 - Lavender tip |
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| Step 10 - Finishing touches to cupcake |
Here's a shot of the other hand...
and here's the kit
![]() |
| The kit |
Happy painting...the nailist xxx
Labels:
Barry M,
Bourjois,
bright pink,
complex,
cupcakes,
dots,
mixed design,
Models Own,
Models Own Pro,
nail art,
No7,
polka dots,
Prevail,
rhinestones,
Rimmel,
Ruby and Millie,
spots,
stripes,
tips
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Now you see it... now you don't!
I sometimes find it difficult to just do a plain nail colour... I always find myself reaching for my nail art pen or wanting to add a different coloured tip! However, for some occasions, less is always more! So this is a clever trick to add a bit of flair to plain manicure without being all out nail art-tastic!
By using a crackle top coat similar to the base colour the stripe can only be seen in certain lights.
By using a crackle top coat similar to the base colour the stripe can only be seen in certain lights.
Firstly, I applied two coats of Nail Colour by H&B in Nerd followed by a diagonal thick stripe in Nail Colour by H&M in Check me out.
![]() |
| Step 1 - pale colour and bold stripe |
This in itself is a great look which you can further jazz up with a dark crackle top coat over the stripe or add a similar coloured crackle coat to the base colour to create the 'now you see it, now you don't' look. I used 17 Nail Xtras Crackle Top Coat
![]() |
| Step 2 - add crackle coat |
Add top coat and enjoy your subtle but on trend nails!
![]() |
| The kit |
Happy painting.. the nailist xxx
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